Are you implicated in any corruption charges??? You must leave office immediately

Corruption and impunity are King in government of Kenya circles. Maize, Oil, Tanks & Guns, Grand Regency Hotel, Goldenberg, the phantom Ken Ren Fertiliser Factory, Anglo Leasing, Free Primary Education, the list goes on and the institutional rot is obvious. Today Parliament shall debate a report on the sale and purchase of Kenyan diplomatic mission property in 5 countries – alleged to be tainted by corruption and abuse of public trust. ( www.marsgroupkenya.org )

That being the case, you probably will agree with me that Kenya is ripe for change. Charged citizens, MP's eager to please, Lumumba who's heading an institution who's reputation hungs in the balance and the two principles who dont seem to care about which political side of the divide you come from. Since we got our flag independence in 1963, I dont think there is any other time in our history when kenyans were as hopeful and as ready for change as they are now. The new constitution has a lot to do with is, but I also choose to think that Kenyans are genuinely fed up of being short changed. They might not have grasped how to get themselves out of this quagmire, but they definitely are ready to act if provided with possible alternatives.

One of the fundamental areas that need radicle change is public service. We seem to target the scam of the earth for the most demanding and sensitive positions. If today the cabinet were to be vetted, we probably would not have anyone left standing. Now we all know that the prospects of having all the cabinet fired or even investigated (in the spirit of the new constitution of course) is nirvana and will not happen in our lifetime. However, we have a robust and extremely outspoken new kid on the block by the name of PLO lumumba. This man might just deliver us to Can-an if we put enough pressure on him. Already as it is, he is extremely eager to perform but we all know that its only a matter of time before he is compromised. What kind of pressure am i talking about here? Kenyans must show that they are hungry for blood, blood of anyone who feels they can continue to govern this country with impunity. All lumumba's team has to do is point us in the right direction. If your name as much as appears on a corruption report, whether proven guilty or not, you MUST leave office. This issue of "innocent until proven guilty" does not apply to this corruption ridden government.

Now most of you will suggested that this kind of "none negotiable" approach will encourage witch hunts among government. True as this may be, I can confidently say that this is a risk kenyans should be willing to take. The idea of politicians hiding behind ethnic cocoons must end, and the only way to end it is for kenyans to start capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the new constitution. Ensuring that Ruto,Wetangula, Saitoti, Majiwa and all their brothers have been laid to rest politically is the only way.

The rhetoric that has become climate change.

Have you ever sat through a climate change meeting? especially one of those that try to come up with solutions? It is true that the world is in a sorry state. All you have to do is read some of the statistics on the rate at which our greedy industrialization behaviors are eating up the world and you will develop a bucket list immediately after. We have all seen the increased disasters, from the tsunamis, earthquakes to unexplained draughts and floods. at the rate things are happening, the scientist will be out of work soon.

Now, all of us seem to have come to terms with the disaster we have made of things. I however will never understand how the discussions we have in our NGO circles will change anything. we talk about changing our lifestyles, about holding our governments accountable. well, lets start with changing how we live, does anyone think this is possible? lets shut down GM and other car manufactures, heck, lets bring technology to an end. I know that sounds radicle but im not sure we have the luxury of taking the slow option. the changes we recommend today in my opinion only serve to postpone the inevitable. My friend Janet Akao used to say that the only solution to climate change and other global ills, is for the world to swallow us all then have a fresh start, a less evil generation. Now that is radicle.

I must admit that i dont know much about climate change, but i know for sure that telling people to give up their comfort zones might take centuries, which at this point we do not have.

Holding our governments accountable is the other hurdle we are yet to figure out. Industrialization seems to be all that our governments think about. the economy, employment creation etc all look to industrialization to create this opportunities. Truth of the matter is, we bought the western model ages ago and now its almost too late to turn back. So lets keep signing all this UN declarations, attend the COP16, 17 etc meetings, be vocal at the Rio20, because, honestly speaking, ita all we can do to keep from think of the inevitable.

The changing times: It MUST not be business as usual!

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It MUST not be business as usual!

Have you ever wondered why bringing change is such a daunting task in Kenya yet we have all the right ingredients? If its passion we’v got it, education, the masses, and most definitely we have every reason to want change from this failed system of be it government or society as a whole. Yet every time we embark on a mission to bring about change we end up worse that we started. Why is that? The answer is that either we have the memory span of a catfish or we never fully understand the reason we do things. All you have do is make a list of all the scandals we have had in the last 15 years and how quick we were to sweep all this under the carpet. Even the maize scandal which most of us thought was too close to the heart of Kenyans was forgotten as soon as the media moved on to the next big thing.

Where am I going with this you may ask? Of course like every Kenyan, I am bubbling with joy out for having a new constitution. Today as I got into a matatu, I couldn’t help but notice the business as usual mode we had all switched to. One week ago, everywhere you went, and I mean literary everywhere, Kenyans from all walks of life were discussing the new Katiba, every TV channel had a whole lot of “what if’” debates on the proposed Katiba. Only 7 days later and it feels like we have accomplished everything we set out to. Now this is what worries me!!!! Because this time round we cannot afford to have those temporary amnesia episodes and if we do then we might as well forget Kenya as we know it.

This last weekend, three different groups in Mombasa walked into privately owned land and started demanding that the owners (who I might add are foreigners) move because the new constitution reverts the land back to them. I am not in any way suggesting that the new constitution allows incidents like this to take place, I am simply trying to emphasize why we cannot afford to go to sleep this time. Kenyans need to understand that the changes we aspire for will not come at the stroke of Kibaki's pen, it will take much more work on the part of government and private sector and vigilance on our part. This constitution is one of best things that has happened to Kenya in along time and we must ensure that it remains this way. This requires that we keep the dialogue alive wherever we are. For the media, keep up the same spirit of sharing we saw during the process leading to the referendum. The CoE and other experts need to come up with new civic education materials to be used by civil society. For the principles, we don’t care what the deals behind closed doors were, you must keep the unity intact and visibly so. For the public, keep the debates going as the only way to keep our tolerance levels in check. We must not look at this as business as usual.

For the first time in a very long time, Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya.

Why the Kenyans must vote green tomorrow.

There has been a lot of debate on the draft constitutions, most of it legal and credible, a lot of it propaganda. The constitution discussions have become the centre of everything, from the dinning table back home, matatu rides in town and salons. Whether YES or NO, I must admit I am proud of my countrymen for taking their responsibilities seriously. For the first time since the west started shoving “democracy” down our thoughts, I feel that Kenyans might have finally understood the true meaning of the word and not a mere “multi party state”.

Today I want to talk to the Kenyans who will be at the ballot box tomorrow. You must have already heard a lot of reasons why to vote for or against this constitution. Let mine be an addition to the many credible reasons as to why we must vote GREEN tomorrow. Like many before me have stated, this has been along journey for Kenya, some will say driven by foreign interest. But whether or not foreign interests have interfered in our process, we must understand what a NO vote will do to us. It is not about the beautiful preamble that opens up the constitution, or the numerous gains for the women, youth and marginalized communities. Its not about building credible and accountable institutions which most certainly this constitution aims for, its about citizenship.

Kenyans have finally started to gain confidence in themselves confidence in questioning the role of state, confident that we all play a role in bringing about change. This is what you need for any progressive nation, a people who take up responsibility. The open engagements resulting from the agenda 4 reforms processes have definitely propelled a common mwananchi’s confidence in their contribution to the building of the nation. Gone are the days when government was an exclusive club.

Now to my point!!! If we vote NO, then all this gains will be reverted back to the days when seeking to find out what your last CDF budget did, amounted to crime. It’s the feeling of achievement that builds confidence. Kenyans have been sent back to the drawing board too many times and this might just be the last straw. Kenyans might just give up completely if we are sent back to the drawing board this time. Many say that, if NO carries the day, we will simply dust ourselves off, pick up from where we left off and start the battle, but our history tells us that it has never been as easy as that. The common mwananchi is hanging at the very end of the string. Someone needs to throw us a lifeline and the new constitution might just be it.

So tomorrow as we vote, don’t think of all the YES and NO campaigns you have been hearing all over, think of the millions of who will completely give up on ever seeing change and I mean any kind of change in this country.

I am however very optimistic that like our president said, we will be parting all over town on Thursday. If it was up to me, I would make that our true independence day, and not the day we received a piece of paper drafted by our oppressors.

Happy voting my brothers and sisters

The Myths about the Kenyan public.

As the NMG celebrates 50 years of serving Kenyans, one cannot help but wonder how far Kenya has come as a ‘democracy’. It is quite clear by now that a nation’s good governance is heavily reliant on its citizen’s ability to engage the government. Although a healthy democracy depends on the ability of citizens to directly affect the public policies central to their lives, the current system has little room for genuine citizen input and influence. Having said that, we must acknowledge the role played by the media in bridging this gap. In a government system where information is not considered a public good, the Kenyan media must begin to realize the heavy responsibility bestowed upon them to ensure that the Kenyan public remains well informed.

For this to happen however, the media must come to terms with what has come to be known as the 3 greatest myths of the Kenyan public. The first myth is that the Kenyan public will not participate in policy making and are happy to leave the job to our politicians. Recent history has shown an increase discontent among Kenyans with the way politicians are handling public issues. The reaction to recent scandals i.e. the maize, FPE, among others is but a simple indication of the dissatisfaction. Kenyans are ready to drive policies but the media must create a conducive environment for that to happen by continuing to highlight government business. The second myth is that Kenyans are not competent enough to deal with policy matters. All you have to do is look at how our designated policy makers perform their tasks to know that this is not true. As consumers of government services, no one can be more competent than the public to state how the said services should be delivered. Therefore, to assume that we the public need a crush course in order to provide meaningful contributions to the policy making processes absolute nonsense. The third and most important myth is that Kenyans will not be able to rise above self-interest on behalf of the common good. It is no secret that Kenya experienced the worst ethnic violence in 2008. However, the politicians have continued to capitalize on this dived by pursuing their tribal chief positions. I speak for the Kenyan public when I say that all we want is a proper functioning government and if we have to keep using outsiders, the likes of Kofi Annan and the ICC to prove the point, then we will. Our politicians cannot continue to hide under the tribal cocoons and using our names to justify their misplaced actions.

I therefore applaud our media for the good job it has continued to do and remind them that Kenyans will act so long as they continue to do their job right.

THE ONE MAN BATTLE.

As Kenyans, we have always wondered how our leaders continue to rule this country with a level of impunity that is unimaginable. We have always asked why people with such strong and dedicated personalities fight for our country only to end up being the most corrupt when we elect them for political positions. I will tell you the answer, because we the citizens are all cowards. We talk behind our closed doors and make noise about our dysfunctional governments and yet when we are called upon or an opportunity comes along for us to put our thoughts to action, we all run and hide behind our tribal blankets.

Today I speak to those Kenyans who have always said our country lacks leaders who take initiative. Isn’t Raila doing that on this whole Mau saga? Or what exactly is our definition of taking initiative? The prime minister has gone against the political current to save the Mau forest. Don’t you think it would have been much easier and politically correct for Raila to simply pretend the Mau destruction was irrelevant? Instead he has been fighting a one man battle for months now. Where are the so called environmental civil society organizations? I bet we are all hiding in the fear of being branded political entities. Where are our church leaders who always seem to have something to say about our bad politicians? Or do we only open our mouths to speak when we are critiquing and not when a good initiative needs our support.

I say this to you Kenyans, unless we learn to start recognizing good deeds done by some of our citizens, we will be sending the message to those few who are daring enough to take a stand that Kenyans do not really care either way. I know that not all of us can be as daring as Okiya Omtatah Okoiti, but the least we can do to support such individuals is to let them know that we approve and are grateful for their actions as Kenyans. So as president Kibaki sits in state house pondering whether planting the trees in Mau is worth his time, let the Kenyans send a message that we will stand behind those who try to save our nation, regardless of their political affiliations. We will plant those trees in Mau whether or not the politicians will be present.